New Canadian Photography Institute positioned as a world leader in photographic studies

Canadian Photography Institute

The Photographs Collection of Canada’s National Gallery in Ottawa has just been treated with some new gifts that will help it to become one of the world’s most comprehensive collections and a centre for the study of photography. With a pledge of $10 million, Scotiabank has become a founding partner of the new Canadian Photography Institute (CPI) in support of programs and research. Also stepping up in this initiative is the Chairman of Thomson-Reuters Group, David Thompson, a recognized art collector, who will help build the institute’s collection by offering a series of donations and acquisitions over the next 10 years.

Building on an impressive photographic inventory

The CPI will build on the impressive photographic inventory of around 50,000 images at the National Gallery, which is home to the country’s most important collections of historical and contemporary Canadian art. According to the newly established Canadian Photography Institute website, The National Gallery of Canada already features the works of some of photography’s most notable practitioners, including: William Henry Fox Talbot, Charles Nègre, P.H. Emerson, Hill and Adamson, Frederick H. Evans, Josef Sudek, Walker Evans, Lisette Model, Leon Levinstein, Diane Arbus, Robert Frank, Lynne Cohen, Arnaud Maggs, Mark Ruwedel and Edward Burtynsky.

The first major public photography exhibition at the Ottawa location will feature news archives from Canada’s national daily newspaper, The Globe and Mail, and will open in May 2016.

Dr. J. Ashley Nixon is a documentary photographer, writer, filmmaker, and university teacher, with a Ph.D. in ecology. His exploration of people, places, and performance focuses on sustainability themes, music, dance, art & design, and sports.